I-95 widening aims to address 'awful' stretch from Savannah into South Carolina
Relief is on the way for drivers who for years have endured persistent bottlenecks crossing the Savannah River from Georgia into South Carolina on Interstate 95.
Or just avoided that section altogether.
“I don’t go home on holidays because of it,” said Angela Hendrix, senior vice president of marketing and public relations at the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) and a Rock Hill, South Carolina, native. “I’ve seen too many people life-flighted out of there from wrecks. I just won’t do it.”
On the Savannah side, vehicles headed toward the state line are funneled from three lanes down to two as they approach the bridge.
“It’s no different than sand going through an hourglass,” added SEDA President and CEO Trip Tollison.
The two-lane configuration continues in both directions on the Palmetto State side.
That will change with a $360 million South Carolina Department of Transportation project to widen a 10-mile stretch of I-95 from just inside the Georgia state line to the U.S. 278 interchange in Hardeeville.
The work, scheduled to begin next year and be completed in 2032, will include a new six-lane bridge across the river.
Along I-95: $35 million deal protects 4,400-acre Lowcountry parcel ripe for development
An average of 64,000 vehicles a day pass through the section of highway, according to state data. In addition to far exceeding its designed capacity, that stretch is among the worst rural interstates for moving freight, a 2021 SCDOT report concluded.
That assessment is no surprise to Tollison.
“It is an awful situation all the way from the Savannah River Bridge to I-26,” he said. “The road is crappy, there’s potholes, it’s just not maintained well.”
The project is welcome news for the Georgia Ports Authority, which operates the ports of Savannah and Brunswick.
“(GPA) applauds any effort to improve the efficiency and safety of transportation for commuters and freight carriers, especially on a high-volume route such as I-95,” spokesman Edward Fulford said. “Widening the interstate should reduce congestion and ease the flow of traffic.”
The project will include round-the-clock work at times, but two lanes of traffic will be maintained in both directions during daylight hours, according to SCDOT spokeswoman Hannah Robinson.
SEDA’s Tollison suggested the deteriorating condition of I-95 on the South Carolina side of the river illustrates a contrast in approach between the two states.
“Georgia has been very, very good about responding to the needs and planning ahead,” he said. “It's just a different environment in South Carolina.”
John Deem covers climate change and the environment on the Georgia coast. He can be reached at jdeem@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: South Carolina project to fix I-95 bottleneck at Georgia border
